you are my sunshine, my only sunshine
by literallyshutup
Summary: Kushina has always been hopelessly in love with one classmate but when a mysterious and persistant golden boy starts bunking with her, she finds herself caught in middle of the most intricate love web she never could have imagined.
1. a kiss on the cheek

A/N: Here I am with yet another story! I should really be focusing on ABOFA but I couldn't resist writing this for the life of me. There is simply not enough MinaKush love.

I don't own Naruto, yada yada. This will be the first and last time I say it.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>It was a dreary and dismal afternoon when it happened. Not even the blistering sun of Konoha could penetrate the dark cloud that hung exclusively over Kushina Uzumaki's head.<p>

Just this morning Kushina strolled along the sidewalk with her head held high and a skip in her step, all prepared for another day of third grade. That's how she was every morning. She would wake up with a promise to herself that Fugu-face and his pathetic lackeys wouldn't bring her down even if they beat her down. Her hyperactive mother whom she received most of her traits from would pack her a lunch that usually consisted of lots of sweets, ramen and a note on pink paper that smelled like strawberries and told her how perfect she was. Her father would help her into her light up sneakers, give her a kiss on the cheek and repeat the same line he did every morning: "Go get 'em, tiger!"

Looking back on it, Kushina realized it was horribly cheesy and cliché, yet it never failed to keep her fiery spirit alive.

Normally, Kushina would return home not as spirited as she had been that morning, but today was exceptionally bad. Just thinking of the humiliation she had been through during recess was enough to turn her face as vibrant as her hair.

In a seething rage, Kushina snatched her blue jacket from one of the hooks in Peach class's coat closet. Practically shoving a girl with navy blue hair out of the way, she grabbed her small backpack and stormed out of the building. Wanting to get far away from the school as quickly as she could, Kushina raced past the playground and down the steps where multiple kids her age were waiting for their parents to come pick them up. A few girls snickered as she passed. Kushina ignored them and turned left.

Once she was a good twenty feet away from school grounds, Kushina slowed down, one hand trailing the tan fence that towered over her head.

"Stupid Fugu-face," The furious red-head grumbled, her eyes on the ground as she walked, "Stupid Inoichi, stupid Shikaku, stupid Chouza, stupid, stupid, stupid!"

While the spicy red pepper was throwing her mini-hissy fit, she didn't notice the sources of her embarrassment and horrible day a few paces in front of her.

"Hey, Haruno, the chubby girl is following you," Fugaku nudged the boy whose pink hair was covered by a red hat. He glanced over his shoulder and grimaced.

"Someone has a stalker!" Chouza sang.

"Do you even know what a stalker is?" Shikaku asked his best friend, looking at him dubiously.

"Yes!" Chouza quickly defended himself, flushing.

"Ugh, shut up, you guys," He shoved Shikaku's shoulder lightly and rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Haruno," Inoichi gave him a challenging look, "go give your girlfriend some looooove."

Haruno resisted the urge to punch the blonde in the face. "I don't like her!" He yelled, coming to a sudden halt. Finally, Kushina noticed the banes of her existence and looked up right before colliding with Haruno.

Kushina jumped up and bowed fervently, "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was-"

"Look at her, guys, she's practically on her knees for Haruno!" Inoichi and the rest of his friends cracked up at the blush that flooded Kushina's face and the annoyance that flashed across Haruno's. He quickly got to his feet and shoved Inoichi.

Kushina deliberated whom she should attack first. Normally, she would be flying at the closest person without a second thought. But she was equally enraged with two people. Fugaku, who was the one who announced to the class that she had a crush on the pink-haired boy and wrote _Kushina Haruno_ all over her notebooks in hearts and Inoichi was the one who was relentless in teasing both of them about it.

Just as she made her decision to end Fugaku's life right then and there, the object of her affection spoke up, "Leave me alone, Uzumaki. You're so annoying."

Kushina stared at him, her violet eyes wide in shock. Now, Kushina was never one for tears – just mindless rage – but she couldn't help the tears the spilled over as her humiliation increased tenfold. Fugaku and his friends were cackling mercilessly. Her usual resolution would be to pummel the source of her humiliation into the ground, but she couldn't do that to the supposed love of her life. All she wanted was for a hole to open in the sidewalk and to swallow her whole. And maybe for a truck to obliterate Fugaku and Inoichi. Shikaku and Chouza weren't as bad; she would allow them to live.

"Oi!"

Six heads turned upwards. One boy stared down at them from his perch on a tree branch with a gaze that could merely pass for curious. No sympathy or disgust. Just simply intrigued by the scene before him. "Who the hell are you?" Inoichi spat, crossing his arms over his chest to seem tough. Kushina would have rolled her eyes if they hadn't been glued to her blonde haired blue-eyed savior.

"God," He deadpanned. Nobody said a word. The mystery boy had said it without a hint of sarcasm. "And God punishes bad boys like yourselves."

"We aren't bad!" Chouza protested, frowning.

"Good boys don't make girls cry," 'God' retorted without even glancing at Kushina. She studied him harder, wiping her tears away discreetly. His spiky blonde hair fell over his bright eyes like he was in desperate need of a haircut and it looked like it would be lighter if it weren't so dirty. He was sitting on a tree branch that hung above heir heads, with his head resting on his knee that was pulled up to his chest and the other leg dangled in the air.

"Get down here so I can show you just how _good_ we are," Fugaku glared at the boy and beckoned him over.

'God' stood, dropped down from the branch, and grabbed it before he fell completely, skillfully swung from it and landed neatly in front of Fugaku. Kushina watched in awe as the boy's fist wordlessly flew into Fugu-face's face. Inoichi made a shocked noise before lunging for 'God'. Shikaku and Chouza exchanged an exasperated look before turning and leaving without another word to their friends.

Without wanting to miss any action, Kushina dove into the scuffle. She grabbed Inoichi's short ponytail and jerked him backwards to make him release her savior's shirt. Caught off guard, the blonde Yamanaka stumbled backwards and knocked over Kushina. She landed on her bottom and groaned loudly. "You're gonna pay for that!" She shouted, baring her teeth menacingly at him.

"Oh, man," a husky voice made the fighting kids freeze, all turning to look up. Yet another intruder. Konoha High school uniform, spiky white hair, red lines that reached to the end of his cheekbones and pursed lips that were fighting a smile all stood before them. The high schooler sighed and placed a hand on his hip. "What am I going to do with you?"

He seemed to be talking to the blonde stranger who promptly shot up into a standing position. He was sporting a black eye courtesy of Fugaku Uchiha. "But, Sensei-"

"No buts, kid, this is the fourth fight I've caught you in this week," Kushina absently noted that it was only Tuesday. "When we get back your ass is mine."

Kushina's eyes widened at the inappropriate word. The boy simply nodded like a docile student, "Yes, Sensei." He then turned to her, finally acknowledging her. He bent down in front of her. "I'm sorry he made you cry," Was all he said before placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. Kushina's face once again flooded with heat as she gaped open mouthed at him. The white haired teenager burst into jolly laughter, reminding Kushina of Santa Claus.

"That's my little ladies man!"

After 'God' arrived, Kushina didn't even notice Haruno had already left.

xxx

It was roughly four years before she encountered him again. She was still chubby, she still had painfully red hair, she was still hopelessly in love with Haruno and Fugaku and his friends still hated her. Even worse, her mom still left encouraging notes in her lunchbox everyday. They did little to encourage her. Especially when Tsume Inuzuka took them from her and read them aloud to everyone at their lunch table. Being in middle school was hell compared to elementary school. In elementary school it was being shoved around on the playground. In middle school it's blood seeping from her private parts, plaid knee-length skirts, petty girls and getting shoved around in the locker room.

The only bright side was that she actually made a friend. Her first friend. Her name was Mikoto and she was Kushina's polar opposite. She was beautiful, gentle, and graceful and everybody loved her. The greatest thing about her was that she wasn't a total bitch. In fact, Kushina specifically remembered shoving Mikoto out of the way multiple times in the coat closet in elementary school and she never said or did anything. Not once. Not even a dirty look or nasty rumor. When they were assigned seats next to each other in history class, they became inseparable. At first, Mikoto was too shy to say anything and Kushina was too stubborn. One day Kushina asked her for a pencil and everything changed. Mikoto pulled out a giant pencil bag and launched into a speech that Kushina had trouble keeping up with.

"Oh, sure! I'm Mikoto, by the way. You're Kushina! I've heard a lot about you. I've always wanted to talk to you but I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk to me. Do you like red or blue? I like red, myself. I use red pens all the time! I wish they could make a marker the color of your hair. It's beautiful! I hate my blue hair. It's so _weird_. I mean come on, who was _blue_ hair? Me, sadly. But-"

"Thank you."

"Huh? No problem! You can borrow a pencil whenever!" Mikoto smiled at her like no one besides her parents had before.

Kushina didn't bother telling her that she was thanking her for more than the pencil.

After that day, Kushina always happened to forget to bring a necessary supply for that class just to talk to her and eventually Mikoto greeted her with a smile everyday. She would talk to her, more like at her, everyday practically the whole class about meaningless things. Kushina didn't mind though. She would talk about television shows she'd never seen or manga she'd never read. She would talk about her little brother and how obnoxious he was. She would talk about dance class and how much she wanted to grab her instructor's butt. The girl was an open book. Kushina practically had her life story after one week.

During one particularly boring history lesson, Mikoto turned to Kushina and said, "You're my best friend, you know that?" Kushina simply blinked owlishly at her. Mikoto smiled and turned back to taking notes. The redhead had found it a little more than odd. Mikoto was the _It_ girl. She had more friends than Kushina had underwear. And Mikoto didn't even know Kushina's favorite color. Despite that fact, Kushina couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.

Kushina's second encounter with him wasn't quite as glorified as the first. There was no swinging from tree branches to her rescue, no kisses on the cheek and no fistfights. One could even say it was quite boring.

Fed up with the fat jokes, Kushina decided she was going to exercise every day to get fit and skinny. Everyday quickly dissolved into once a week. She took advantage of the trails near her house every Sunday at sunset. The first time she went jogging she could have sworn she saw a flash of blonde in the woods. The second time she had a creepy sensation that someone was following her and quickly headed home, cutting the jogging session short. The third time it happened. She got that creepy feeling again and sped up. In her panic, she trailed – no pun intended – off into the woods, getting lost. To add to her great luck, she slipped on a log, twisting her ankle.

Kushina sat on the ground for a good ten minutes before he appeared. He dropped down from a tree and lifted her into his arms as if she weighed less than a feather. The only thing he said was "Where do you live?" Kushina simply instructed him and he maneuvered through the forest expertly.

"So, are you following me or something?" She asked as he found the trail once more.

He didn't answer.

"Why are you always hanging out in trees?" Kushina asked again after five minutes of silence.

He continued to stay silent.

"You sure are strong for such a flaky looking guy," She commented, genuinely impressed that he could lift her. She wasn't the skinniest in town.

He didn't comment.

"Who are you?"

He looked down at her with smoldering cobalt eyes, "God."

After that, Kushina saw him every Sunday. Not once did they exchange words. No witty banter. No secrets spilled. No greetings or goodbyes. Nothing. Kushina always got a glimpse of him though. Her personal favorite was seeing him swim in a creek shirtless.

Kushina became comfortable with the routine and he became a fixture in her life. In all honesty, she didn't like him very much. To her, he was an egotistical prick who liked to play the role as knight in shining armor and wander around the forest spying on a fat girl trying to lose the fat. The fact that he wouldn't respond to any of her questions except to tell her he was God pissed her off immensely. He either thought way too highly of himself or he was just messing with her. Neither a good thing. Despite that, his spiky blonde hair and his unrelenting presence were like the sun setting and rising.

So, imagine Kushina's dismay to discover that his presence simply stopped after a few months. In turn, she stopped jogging entirely and slipped into her stupor once more.

xxx

Another three years passed and Kushina's sunshine faded from her mind. High school was relatively easier than middle school. Normally, high school is what gets most people, but Kushina bloomed her freshman year. She had a growth spurt and gained half a foot, loosing almost every inch of fat on her body. Well, she didn't exactly loose it. It seemed to all go to one particular part of her body. Her chest. Kushina wasn't so sure if it was a blessing or a curse. She had an overwhelming amount of new attention from boys and negative attention from girls. Mikoto was still her only real friend. In high school the skirts were much shorter, the blazers were more form fitting, the girls were even more vicious and the boys were even more lewd.

It was in tenth grade when Kushina saw him again.

"Hey, Kushy!" Her blue haired best friend ran up to her and linked their arms together. "I have something to ask you and you have to promise to hear me out before you say no."

"I can't make any promises," Kushina looked at her wearily and weaved a strand of bright red hair through her fingers. They exited the doors of their large high school. On the steps, a group of delinquent girls sat in a group. They all wore too much makeup and hairspray and their skirts barely covered their asses.

"So, you know Fugaku Uchiha and Inoichi Yamanaka, right?" Mikoto began wearily. At Kushina's skeptical nod, she continued, "Well, you know how I've always had the biggest crush on Fugaku-" Mikoto ignored Kushina's disgusted face-"And you know how Inoichi has always admired your exotic beauty-"

Kushina stopped in the middle of the stairs and held up a hand to stop her friend, "And by exotic beauty you mean by boobs, right?"

"Aw, Kushina, don't be like that!" Mikoto whined, "He thinks you're pretty!"

"He thinks my boobs are pretty," She repeated, "And he made fun of me mercilessly until last year." _So did Fugaku_. Kushina felt generous enough to leave that one out.

"Just please do this for me!" She huffed.

"Fine, what is it?" Kushina sighed in defeat.

"It's just one little double date to the movies and maybe dinner." Kushina shrugged. She could survive that.

"As long as he pays." Mikoto squealed and hugged Kushina before hurrying down the steps. Kushina watched as she rushed over to a picnic table that consisted of everyone Kushina hated most in the world. She watched as the blue haired beauty told Fugaku something. The ever-emotional Uchiha simply nodded and patted the seat next to him. Mikoto plopped down next to him and blushed when he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and whispered into her ear. Kushina almost rolled her eyes at the embarrassed giggle she could hear from her spot on the stairs.

Kushina's gaze drifted over Shikaku Nara and Chouza Akimichi and landed on Inoichi Yamanaka. He grinned at her. She didn't smile back.

"Uzumaki!" Someone spat. The redhead turned to look at one of the stair sluts who appeared right in front of her face.

"That is my name," Kushina crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the girl with a bored expression.

"Aren't you, like, in love with Haruno?" She asked, cocking her head.

Kushina tried to will her blush away as she glanced at the table once again. The pink haired teenager was now arm wrestling Inoichi. "I'm not in love with him."

"Well, then, we need to get one thing straight," She said, stepping closer, "Inoichi is _mine_."

"Does he know that?"

"Oh, hell, no," The girl unclasped her hoop earrings and handed them to the girl on her right, "Hold my earrings."

Kushina would have laughed at the horribly cliché sight if the girl hadn't lunged at her in an attempt to rip her face off.

xxx

It was a cold night and the moon was full. The only sound as four teenagers walked down the sidewalk was the clicking of high heels. They were forced upon Kushina after Mikoto's claim of not wanting to be alone. They had, of course, worn their uniforms. _Teenage boys have uniform fetishes, _Mikoto told her.

As much as it pained her, Kushina had to cling to Inoichi's arm in an attempt to stay balanced. She just didn't have the grace that Mikoto earned from years of dancing. And if it wasn't painful enough, Inoichi noticed her shivering in the movie theater and offered her his letterman jacket. Her best friend glared at her when she opened her mouth to decline so she had no choice but to accept. At least it didn't smell like body odor and she _was_ warm.

It was an awkward night to say the least. Inoichi tried to hold her hand or touch her throughout the movie, probably feeling pressured by the sound of Mikoto and Fugaku sucking face, but she had denied him every opportunity subtly. She would coincidentally need to adjust her skirt or reach for her drink every time he tried to hold her hand. She would get up to use the bathroom whenever he made a move to put his arm around her. All subtle hints that told him to get the hell away from her.

"Wasn't that movie great?" Mikoto burst out, almost dying from the awkwardness of the night.

"It sucked," Kushina deadpanned.

"I agree with Habanero," Inoichi grimaced, "Chick flicks, man."

Kushina had the urge to stomp on his foot with her spiky heel. "That's not my name."

"Huh?" He looked down at her. She opened her mouth to shout it at him but was interrupted by a hearty chuckle. They all turned to look up into a tree to their right that was behind a large fence.

Kushina felt her chest swell up with an emotion she couldn't identify. Relief? Longing? No, couldn't be. There in a large branch sat her personal sunshine. He jumped from his spot and landed in front of the double daters. He certainly had a growth spurt. He was much taller and had a lanky build. He also looked much dirtier than the last time she saw him. He still had the same impossibly blue eyes and spiky yellow-blonde hair. His face had matured and he had a confident air to him that surely would have girls at his feet if he took a shower.

"You look familiar," Fugaku studied him, racking his brain.

"God!" Kushina blurted out and would have run to him if she could walk two feet on her own. They all looked at her.

"Well, you have changed," Kushina was slightly disappointed in the look that he gave her. If he's another pervert…"What, no hug?"

Inoichi's grip on her tightened. "Oh, you've got protective man candy now?"

"He's not-" She stopped mid-sentence. She wasn't sure what he was and what he wasn't. Inoichi and 'God' were looking at her expectantly. She detached herself from the blonde and stepped forward tentatively, "Look, um…" She trailed off, not knowing what to call him. She didn't want to call him God and look like a total idiot.

"Minato," He flashed her an impressive grin, "Minato Namikaze."

* * *

><p>AN: So, not exactly how I was going to end it but when is it? There was going to be a whole other scene after this introducing the actual plot of the story but I decided to end it there. This is just kind of a prologue so there will be more!

I was too tired after writing this whole thing in one sitting to go back over and edit it so there's probably numerous mistakes. OH WELL.

I hope you enjoyed! Review, if you'd like!

Oh and I am not giving Haruno a name! Hahahah, I know, what? Obviously he is Sakura's father. Pink hair. Haruno. Come on. And I simply HATE OC's and I feel like if I don't give him a name he won't be an OC.. right? Sakura obviously has a father, he was just never introduced unless I completely missed something. So yeah. He will just be referred to as Haruno the entire time. If it bothers you to no end, feel free to offer a name and I'll think about it.


	2. a kiss on the neck

A/N: This is probably the fastest I'll ever update. I seriously have so much fun writing this story. Thank you for the reviews, story alerts and favorites! You guys made me feel like this story is actually worth writing. Thank you so much!

Also, this is a semi-spoiler: In the manga, Kushina states that one of her nicknames was the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero. So, don't give me any credit for it!

Hope you enjoy.

* * *

><p>"Kushina."<p>

Poke.

"Kushinaaaaaaaa. Earth to Kushina."

Poke. Poke.

"Leave her alone, space commander."

"Be quiet, Fugaku, my baby does not just stare into space like that for no reason!" Poke. "Kushina!"

Poke, poke, poke, poke, poke.

"Oh, Inoichi, what are you doing? How could you take advantage of Kushina like that?"

….

"Damn it," Poke. "KUSHINA UZUMAKI, IS THAT HARUNO?"

"Huh, what?" Said redhead shot up in her seat, knocking into the table in front of her in the process. "Ow, shit."

"Language," Mikoto reminded her cheerily. Kushina sank back into the red and white sparkly booth that she shared with Inoichi and looked around.

After the exciting episode with 'God', err, Minato they decided to continue their date and have dinner. Much to Kushina's protests, of course. Blushing at her growling stomach, Mikoto suggested going to the retro diner that was notorious for double dates and messy hamburgers. Kushina was aware of how rude she was being; she just didn't care. The date with Inoichi was more for Mikoto than the blonde bully. So, as they sat in the bustling diner, Kushina picked at her French fries and promptly ignored everyone in the room. Eventually, she slipped completely into her mind and forgot she was even there. There was one thing on her mind.

Minato Namikaze.

All she could think about as her friend and their dates laughed and ate was her meeting with Minato. After he introduced himself, an awkward silence followed where the normally impulsive Kushina would have said something like 'Finally!' or 'Took you long enough!'. But she had been stunned. Minato, still grinning, slinked in between Kushina and Inoichi with an eerie 'See ya later' and a half wave at her before strolling down the sidewalk. Kushina hadn't been able to take her eyes off of his retreating form until he disappeared into the distance.

She gripped her red hair in frustration. What did he mean by 'See ya later'? Would she actually see him later? Or was he just using it as some generic farewell?

Sighing, she jammed a French fry into her mouth.

"I'll walk you home."

"Huh?" Kushina looked up, startled. Mikoto, Inoichi and Fugaku were already standing and there was a tip already on the table. "Oh," She stood up and slipped out of the booth to stand next to Inoichi. Mikoto and Fugaku were holding hands with their foreheads together, whispering sweet nothings at each other. Kushina had the sudden urge to puke all over the polished white and black tiled floor.

"So, wanna get going?" Inoichi scratched the back of his head and looked down at the grimacing redhead.

"Go where?" She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest, still not making eye contact with him. Inoichi wasn't really bothered by it; more time to ogle her chest without getting punched in the face.

"I said I'll walk you home," He repeated, gesturing to the door.

Kushina opened her mouth to tell him the only place she would like for him to walk was off a cliff when Mikoto suddenly turned to them and answered for her. "How sweet of you, Inoichi! She would love that."

"I would most certainly not," Kushina snapped. Mikoto glared at her and she quickly backpedaled, "want to walk home alone," She finished weakly, trying to smile. She probably looked like a mentally challenged five years old with a brain freeze.

"Awesome, let's go," Inoichi wrapped his arm around her and dragged her out of the diner. She almost stumbled on her too high heels trying to keep up with his long legged stride.

The walk from the diner to her house was surprisingly short. The only unpleasant noises were Inoichi's failed attempts at small talk, which were quickly rejected by a snappy rebuttal from Kushina. It could have been worse, she concluded as they stepped up to her front door. She turned to face him after unlocking her door, waiting for him to leave.

"I had a great time," He smiled warmly at her.

"I can't imagine why," She retorted, almost rolling her eyes. Inoichi laughed awkwardly. "Aren't you leaving?"

"Right," He said. He didn't make a move to leave. Kushina opened her mouth to tell him to leave in a very rude manner when she interrupted _again_. This time it wasn't Mikoto's cheery but threatening intervention. It was Inoichi's chapped lips against her own.

Kushina stared, wide-eyed, at Inoichi's closed eyelids. _What the hell? Oh god, was that his tongue?_ Kushina had no idea what to do. Scream? Kick him in the family jewels? Bite his tongue off?

As if it was a knee-jerk reaction, her hand snapped across his face with a satisfying slap that echoed in the quiet night air.

Kushina's enraged scowl morphed into an expression of shock as she stared at her hand that was still frozen in the air to the glaring red mark on Inoichi's cheek. The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero does not_ slap_ people. Especially perverts who take her first kiss. She beats them to a bloody pulp until they beg for mercy. The high-heels and double dates must be seriously affecting her morals.

"Bastard!" She shrieked. He looked taken aback, as if a girl had never spoken to him like that. "You tormented me my whole life and made my life a living hell as if it was your day job until I hit puberty and got boobs!" She shouted, gesturing to her well-endowed chest, "And now you're acting like you're head over heels for me and took my first kiss! Well, guess what. Fuck you!"

"I didn't-" The blonde started, looking somewhat angry at the redhead's rant.

"I don't care what you did and didn't do," Kushina screamed, clenching her fists and ignoring the pain of her keys digging into her palm, "I don't like you and I never will. I still love Haruno!"

As soon as the words were out of her mouth Kushina regretted it. She clapped her hands over her big mouth, cursing her stupidity.

"Well, he doesn't love you!" Inoichi retorted, now fully angered by her speech, "He ranted about how annoying you were when you stared at him and followed him around until middle school! He said you were ugly and fat and creepy!"

"Shut up!" Kushina put her palms to her ears as if it would block out Inoichi's hurtful words.

"He hates you!"

Awkward, anti-climatic silence ensued the heated argument. Crickets chirped and owls hooted.

Kushina bit her lip, willing herself not to cry. She hadn't let Inoichi or any of his friends make her cry since elementary school and she wasn't about to break that streak. She blinked back any tears before they could spill over and looked up at Inoichi, smirking. "I'll just have to change that, won't I?"

Slamming the door in his face satisfied her almost as much as the surprise on his face.

"Oh, man, what was I _thinking_?" Kushina tugged at her long red locks as she sank to the floor. "_I'll just have to change that, won't I_?" She imitated herself in a manner that made her sound like she had a lisp.

Sighing, she stood up and turned her attention to the television in the living room. She could have sworn that she turned it off before she left. She wrenched her feet out of the death heels and threw them behind her blindly. Reaching for the remote on the coffee table, she froze. Was that just a groan of pain or was she hearing things? She clicked off the television and shook her head as if to clear it of cobwebs.

"I just need a hot, relaxing bath," She said to herself and made her way towards her parents' large Jacuzzi tub.

"I want you and your beautiful sooouul," Kushina sang, stepping out of the lukewarm bath water. "Your beautiful soul, yeeeaaaaah!"

Her music was turned up all the way, most likely audible from the front of the house. Oh, how she loved being home alone. Her parents were on a mission trip to Suna for her entire school year. The only sign of their existence was the constant post cards and funding mailed to her every Sunday.

Kushina wrapped a white fluffy towel around her body and wrapped her long scarlet locks in a towel. She grabbed her purple hairbrush and danced down the hallway to the kitchen.

She was right, she could hear _Born This Way_ from the kitchen. Getting lost in the beat, Kushina began shamelessly dancing and singing along into her hairbrush. "I'm beautiful in my way 'cause God makes no mistakes," Kushina whipped her head around, her hair escaping it's bounds, "I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way!" The redhead skipped to the fridge, still muttering the lyrics. She grabbed the carton of milk, "Rejoice and love yourself today, 'cause baby you were born this way."

"Well, thanks," A voice said behind her, "That means a lot."

Kushina was sure she screamed louder than she ever had in her life at that very moment. So startled, the open milk carton slipped from her shaky fingers as she whipped around, splattering milk on the kitchen tiles.

Perched on her kitchen counter, sitting Indian style was none other than Minato Namikaze. An insufferable smirk adorning his lips barely concealed the laughter in his bright eyes. On his lap sat a plate with a meal that looked as if a blind man had prepared it for him.

A million and one questions raced through Kushina's mind as she stumbled back in shock. Making contact with the counter behind her, she gripped it hard as if she could get a grip of the situation with it. The questions began to hurt her brain and they all spewed out at once.

"Why are how food did milk," She realized she was making absolutely no sense, "What?" She almost applauded herself on the first coherent thing out of her mouth. Minato's amusement was bubbling to the surface

He burst out laughing and Kushina sank down to the floor, paying no mind that she was sitting in a puddle of milk half naked. She stared at him as he threw his head back in laughter, his eyes shut. She waited for him to stop laughing and used his distraction to calm down and get a handle on the surprise visit.

"Are you done yet?" She asked, surprised at how calm her voice sounded. He looked at her, suddenly somber. He stuffed food into his mouth with his fingers and nodded. She frowned at his less than perfect table manners. "How did you get here? Why are you here? When did you-"

"I can see your, ahem," He interrupted her with his mouth full and nodded his head towards her legs. He swallowed his large bite of food as she blinked, "your assets."

"My assets," She repeated, blinking again, staring at him blankly.

"You know," He scratched the back of his head, more food already in his mouth, "Your girl parts," He informed her only slightly abashed, crumbs on the corners of his mouth.

"My girl parts," She said slowly, looking down at herself. The towel was small and fit her snuggly, also showing a fair amount of cleavage. Her knees were together but her feet were as far away from each other as they could go, giving Minato a full view of her _girl parts_. "Pervert!" She jumped up from her spot.

Her flying fist was caught by his hand, catching her off guard. Before she knew what was happening, Kushina's dominant arm was twisted behind her back, which was now facing Minato who had a firm grip on her other wrist. "What-"

"You know," Minato began in a cool, calculating tone, "You sure do act tough, but it would be so easy for any guy to take advantage of you," He told her like it was a casual conversation between two acquaintances passing each other on the street. As if to emphasis his statement he placed his lips on the sensitive juncture where her neck met her shoulder.

Kushina was frozen. She didn't make a sound or move. Never in her life had she been in a situation like this. The closest thing was the stolen kiss with Inoichi, but she had quickly disposed of him. This, however, was different. The grip on her wrists was obviously of someone with strength that was well beyond hers. As flaky looking as he was, Minato was _strong_. And kind of scary. If she made a move to free her wrists, his grip would undoubtedly just get stronger and if that happened Kushina was sure it would snap her bones in half. If she tried head butting him, her head would just land on his shoulder, probably making it seem like she was giving him permission to do more. That brought up the most troubling factor that made this situation different. Her body had no desire to stop him. His lips were surprisingly soft on her skin besides the strong sucking that made her feel dizzy with pleasure. The responsible part of her mind was screaming for him to stop. She wasn't in control and it made her feel helpless. She couldn't stand feeling like helpless goo in his hands as much as her body liked it. There were so many things wrong with this turn of events. Her head felt like it was going to explode.

"Stop," She whimpered, "Please."

He abruptly released her, gently shoving her forward. "See what I mean?" He looked her with a frustratingly easy-going smile when she turned to face him. "Go change and I'll answer any questions you have, Habanero."

Anger rose in her quickly. If she wasn't overly aware of her half-naked state she would have snapped at him about ordering her around in her own home and taking advantage of her just to prove a point. Instead, she turned on her heel, snatching up her hairbrush and towel from her hair and stalked down the hall with a call back to him, "Get your feet off the counter!"

"Aye-aye, Captain!"

After much debate on her wardrobe, Kushina padded back to the front of the house where the kitchen, dining room and living room were. Never has she had so much trouble deciding what pajamas to wear. She didn't want to look like she was trying too hard by wearing short shorts and a tank top – or that she was inviting him to have his way with her - but she didn't want to look gross with baggy sweatpants and an over-sized t-shirt. She finally settled on sweatpants that stopped under her knees and a form-fitting hoodie that had "Konoha High" written across the chest in red letters. Safe and warm.

Kushina glanced at the kitchen and noted the puddle of milk and dropped carton were no longer there. A certain blonde home-invading rapist was also missing.

"Aw," A voice from the living room whined, "I was seriously looking forward to a skimpy nightgown."

Kushina whirled around. Minato sat on her coffee table in the same manner he had with the kitchen counter. His plate filled again.

"Like those silk ones with the lace that-" While the blonde was fantasizing about inappropriate nightwear, gesturing with hand motions, a furious redhead stalked over to him.

"You can't just come into my house and eat my food! I don't even know you!" Kushina screamed, grabbing the plate from Minato.

"I can and I did," Minato tried to reach for the plate, but Kushina held it higher above her head. She wasn't nearly as tall as Minato, but she had a standing advantage over his own sitting one.

"Who do you think you are?" Kushina seethed at his attitude.

He smirked, "God."

She rolled her eyes at his response. "That was rhetorical and cut that shit out!"

"I think you know me pretty well," He said as if she hadn't spoken. "We've known each other for," He stopped to count on his fingers. "Like nine or ten years!"

"We've known _of_ each other for that amount of time," She retorted, sitting down on the couch and examining the plate of food. She picked up something orange and popped it in her mouth. "You can hardly call you stalking me my whole life has knowing each other."

He raised his eyebrows at her as she chewed. She didn't spit it out or choke on it in disgust. He was impressed. She continued to eat and looked at him expectantly. "You're in second place for the people I know the best," He commented, standing on the coffee table only to drop down next to her on the couch. She looked at him, confusion knitting her eyebrows together. "Jiraiya is first."

She thought for a moment before it dawned on her, "That white haired teenager that reminded me of Santa Claus?"

Minato barked out a surprised laugh at her last statement, "He's not really a teenager anymore."

"Ah, right."

They were quiet for a long moment. The only sound was their chewing as they shared the plate of exotic food.

"You smell like body odor," Kushina commented, wrinkling her nose at him.

"Do I?" He sniffed his armpit and shrugged, "I don't really have access to basic hygiene."

"Your teeth are so white though," He bared his teeth at her, making her giggle.

"I use your toothbrush."

Her giggling ended abruptly. "You aren't serious," She said matter-of-factly.

"You're right," He grinned, scratching the back of his head, "I use your dad's."

"There's towels over there," Kushina told Minato over the loud roar of her shower, pointing to a pile of towels, "I'll go get you some clothes and a toothbrush. I'll be waiting right outside, so just knock on the door when you're done."

Minato nodded absently, not really paying attention. Kushina rolled her eyes and turned to leave. Grabbing the doorknob, she remembered something. She turned around and immediately faced the door again, her face red. "Jeez, Minato, can't you at least wait until I leave the room?"

The blonde looked at her turned back with his shirt half way up his torso, amused. "It's not my fault you're so shy."

"I am not shy!" She snapped. "Don't use my razor, I'll get you one!"

Minato almost laughed as she slammed the door shut behind her. He quickly stripped out of his clothes and stepped under the warm spray, his back muscles twitching in approval.

Kushina leaned against the door and glared up at the ceiling as if it was the source of all of her troubles. "Stupid, cute, arrogant, attractive-" She stopped herself and shook her head. "_No_, bad Kushina."

She put her hands to both sides of her head and rubbed furiously, trying to rid the inappropriate thoughts of her temporary houseguest. Kushina still couldn't believe that she was going to be living with him for God knows how long.

"_Do you really?" Kushina had asked him after throwing him a disgusted glance._

_ "Only sometimes," He revealed, leaning back into the couch and chewing on his lip thoughtfully, "I don't have a home or a job so I just wander from house to house and use the cleanest looking toothbrush."_

_ "Okay, gross," She shuddered, "And why don't you have a home? What about your brother Jerry, or whatever?"_

_ "Jiraiya and he wasn't my brother. More like a guardian," He corrected, pursing his lips together. Kushina found herself fascinated with his lips. "He started travelling once he graduated. He's an author. He said he wanted to see more of the world to get better experience to become a better writer."_

_ "He just left you alone?" She asked, concern coloring her voice. Kushina had discarded the interesting food combination and came back with a bag of marshmallows. She popped one in her mouth and took the chance to study him while he talked. He looked at his hands and around the room while he told her his tale. He would occasionally meet her stare out of the corner of his eyes._

_ "Not exactly," Minato stretched his long legs out and let his feet rest on the coffee table, "I was fifteen when he left - old enough to get a job. So, he got me a job as a bartender-" Kushina coughed on her sugary sweet and Minato glanced at her in amusement. "-And it was pretty nice at first. Free drinks, a ton of attention from girls and free boarding."_

_ "You worked at a bar when you were fifteen? And you got free drinks?" Kushina gaped at him incredulously. He nodded and shrugged._

_ "I told them I was eighteen and they were either stupid enough to believe me or I was too good looking to turn down," He gave her a confident grin, "I like to think it was the latter."_

_ "Wait, how old are you now?" Kushina asked, offering him a marshmallow once she got over her initial shock of his little revelation. _

_ "Eighteen," He threw the marshmallow up and caught it in his mouth skillfully. _

_ "Well, since you're so good looking, I guess I believe you," She rolled her eyes and thumped him on the head._

_ "Ow! Okay, okay. I'm seventeen," He rubbed his head, wincing. "But I'll be eighteen in January."_

_ "Fair enough," She put her feet next to his on the coffee table, "So, if you had a job and lady attention and a place to stay, what happened?"_

_ "I ran away," He revealed, laying his head on hers. She shoved him away and asked why. "I'm a free spirit, the attention got creepy when forty year-old, recently divorced women began following me into storage closets and propositioning me and my boss couldn't cook at all. If I see another fast food joint I'll gouge my eyes out. Plus, I was a defiant, confused, hormone, impulsive teenager."_

_ "You still are," Kushina muttered under her breath._

_ "Hey! I am not," Minato defended himself, slightly offended._

_ "So, you've just been wandering around for almost three years using strangers' toothbrushes and sleeping in trees?" She raised her eyebrows at him._

"_Yeah, pretty much," He nodded._

"_I guess that explains why you're here," She crossed her arms over her chest._

"_Does it?"_

"_You want to stay here, right?" Kushina looked up at him. He looked down at her and nodded. "How did you know my parents were going to be gone for a year?"_

"_I didn't, but wow!" He grinned excitedly, "That's convenient!" _

_Kushina stared at him in disbelief. "You are unbelievable."_

_He kept grinning in triumph. _

"_Well, if you're going to stay here you are going to be clean," She stood up and inspected him with her hands on her hips, "Shower time, monkey boy."_

While Kushina relived the scene inside her head, she had slid down to a sitting position with her back against the door. Her hands were wrapped around her legs which where pulled up to her chest.

"Hmph," She puffed out her cheeks in a pouting manner, "I can't believe I agreed to this."

Next thing Kushina knew, the door was no longer holding her up and she was laying flat against cold, white tiles that suspiciously felt like her bathroom tiles. Her eyes traveled up tan, lean legs skipped over the white towel that draped across thin hips, past the golden, taut skin stretched over abs that she wanted to run her hands and tongue all over and-

"Enjoying the view?"

Kushina felt red from the strands of her hair to the color of her face to the core of her being. "Yea-NO!" She snapped up once her eyes met his own and put her hands to her flaming cheeks. His chuckle made her blaze with anger rather than mortification. She stood up, getting in his face. "You might have spiky hair, hypnotic blue eyes and a perfect grin that resembles a rock star. You also might have the surfer thing going on with the blonde hair and the perfect abs, but…" Her voice trailed off as her hands probed his abs and gazed into said hypnotic eyes.

"You were saying?" His voice sounded oddly husky and the temperature in the room seemed to be that of an oven.

She snatched her hand away from his body, stepped back until her back met the hallway wall and took a deep breath, "Put some clothes on!"

"That's why I opened the door," He frowned. Minato resembled a pouting little boy who was wrongly accused of something.

"Oh, right!" Kushina slapped her forehead. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she completely forgot to get him clothes and a toothbrush. "Come with me and bring your old clothes."

Minato disappeared into the bathroom and returned with a pile of tattered clothes.

Kushina led him past three rooms to the end of the hall. One door was open and revealed a laundry room, which Kushina told him to toss his clothes in. The other door was shut. She told him it was her father's study. On the right at the end of the hallway, there was a door that was half open. She said it was in the making to be her study. She opened a door on the left and ushered him in. Her bedroom, he presumed.

It wasn't too large or small. A full bed with a handmade quilt and piles of pillows was shoved into one corner. On the bed lay boxes of scattered, individually wrapped candy, open magazines, a telephone and bottles of nail polish in every color of the rainbow. In the middle of the room there was a mattress with blankets and pillows. It seemed somewhat out of place. A dresser with clothes poking out of the drawers sat in a corner on the right side of the room. Minato stepped closer to inspect the picture frames on top of it. Most of them were of Kushina and a girl with blue hair. One of them made Minato look even closer. There was a group of girls in front of an unfamiliar house all in skimpy costumes. Behind them, the house was decorated with fake spider webs and glowing pumpkins. There was a girl with dark hair in two buns dressed up as a Chinese warrior. In Minato's opinion, there was no way she could fight in a skirt that short or heels that high. Next to her was the blue-haired girl that frequented Kushina's other pictures. She was clad in a skin-tight navy blue police uniform complete with fishnets, handcuffs and a police hat. The girl had her arm around Kushina's waist. At least Minato was pretty sure it was Kushina. She had the same long, vibrant hair as Kushina. She had on the cliché white nurse's uniform that nurses didn't even wear anymore. It fit her curves in all the right places and showed a generous amount of cleavage. The nurse's cap, ruby red lips, white fishnet stockings and white stiletto's completed the outfit. Minato was seriously regretting not showing up a month ago. Kushina coughed behind him and Minato barely glanced at the other two girls. One with messy brown hair dressed up in lingerie and dog-ears and the other had some kind of white-spotted brown leotard, brown tights and antlers. She was also slightly bent over to reveal a fluffy tail.

"That was Halloween this year," Kushina explained, looking at the picture fondly. "The Chinese girl is Cho, her real name is ChoCho, but she hates it so we just call her Cho. She's also pathetically in love with Hiashi _and _Hizashi Hyuga. That's Mikoto, my best friend. Fugaku, her sort of boyfriend went nuts over her costume. He's going to be police chief when he takes over his family's business. That's me," She laughed awkwardly, obviously embarrassed by her outfit, "Mikoto found out that Haruno was going to Fugaku's party as a doctor so she forced me to be a nurse," She rolled her eyes at her friend's antics, "The puppy is Tsume Inuzuka. She's all right once you get over how much of a loud bitch she is. The deer is Yoshino or Yoshi. She forced Shikaku Nara to go out with her. I think they're good together, though. He's really laid back and needs someone dominating like her to keep him on a leash."

Minato merely nodded as she explained all of this, his eyes never straying from Kushina in the Halloween picture. "Who is Haruno?" He asked after a moment.

"Huh? Oh," Kushina blushed, "Never mind that. Move so I can get you clothes," She pushed him out of the way and opened a drawer. She pulled out boxers, a neatly folded t-shirt that had "Konoha - Cross Country" written on it and navy sweatpants. She handed them to Minato and turned around while he changed.

"So, why do you have a whole drawer full of men's clothing?" Minato asked suspiciously, dropping the towel.

At the sound of clothing hitting the floor, Kushina fought the temptation to peek over her shoulder. "My freshman year I got really embarrassed about my body developing and I went through a period where I tried to be a boy. Mikoto used to say 'It's cute, really. But it would be even cuter if you didn't do it'," Kushina laughed, shaking her head. "I never got rid of any of it. That whole dresser is filled with men's clothes. My real clothes are in my closet and that dresser," She pointed to a mirror dresser pushed against the same wall the door was attached to.

"You sure do talk a lot," Minato commented, pulling the t-shirt over his head.

"You asked!" Kushina plopped onto her bed and watched him pull the sweatpants on. His hair was even spikier than before, almost completely dry from the shower. "Teeth brushing time!"

After finding Minato a spare toothbrush, the two stood side by side in front of her sink mirror, brushing their teeth in silence. Kushina almost giggled at the memory of both of them going to spit at the same time. She had accidently spit on the back of his head. Once they both rinsed out their mouths of left over toothpaste she put his head under the sink and washed the toothpaste out. She admittedly massaged his scalp a little more than necessary, but she couldn't help it with the look of pleasure on his face as she did so. It was also pretty endearing how he straightened up and shook his hair dry like a dog.

Now, she lay in her bed, the only source of light in the room was the clock on her nightstand, which read 12:42. The fact that she had school the next day wasn't really an urgent fact at that moment. The only thing that really concerned her was the strange teenager deeply asleep on the mattress, usually reserved for Mikoto, in the middle of her bedroom.

Kushina groaned quietly and rolled over to face the wall. There was no way she was going to get any sleep.

* * *

><p>AN: Kind of a crappy ending, but oh well. I was going to write the morning after but it was already ten pages on word and I figured I need to save more material for the next few chapters, you know?

I made an OC. It hurts, but I had to. Unless it wasn't painfully obvious Cho is Tenten's mother. Tenten is pretty much my favorite character and the fact that she has little to no depth or background at all upsets me. And I needed to add another friend to their group. Since Tenten is a real character and someone had to give birth to her it's not a complete OC. Or that's the way I like to look at it. Like Haruno!

And incase you missed the minimal screentime that Shikamaru's mother had, Yoshino is actually a character and she is Shikamaru's mother. Obviously. So, yeah. All those characters will be in this story blah blah blah.

Hope you liked it!


	3. a kick in the nuts

A/N: I really don't know what to say except that this is utter crap. I don't know; it started off good enough then it just dissolved into a pile of poo. This chapter is not my best work, at all. So, don't expect too much.

Hopefully, you can enjoy this.

* * *

><p>Minato stared down at the girl, as she slept, with an expression close to amused wonder. From the gentle features of her face and her uppity personality, Minato would have thought Kushina would be a soundless, elegant sleeper. He was wrong. Very wrong.<p>

Kushina lay on her bed in a sprawled manner, her blankets wound around her in a very unnatural way. The majority of the blankets were clenched between her thighs or under her. They weren't doing their job of covering her very well. Her bare foot would occasionally rub against the other sock-clad foot – a common sign of dreaming. Minato had read about it in someone's bathroom one time. Her crimson hair fanned around her, the stark contrast to the white sheets making her hair appear as if it were on fire. She shifted slightly onto her back, her arm lifting her sweatshirt to rub the newly revealed creamy skin of her stomach. Her shirt was pushed up past her belly button and her loose sweatpants had ridden down while she tossed and turned and revealed pale yellow panties. Minato raised an eyebrow at that; he would have pegged her as the boy shorts or girl boxer type. She smacked slightly in her deep slumber, sighed contently and began snoring lightly again.

Minato had never found the sight of someone sleeping so – so _endearing_. All the people he'd crept past to their bathrooms at night had always been a revolting sight. Especially the men who slept naked. Minato shuddered at the memories.

Out of the many people he'd seen asleep, Kushina was the only one he had the urge to…

He wasn't quite sure what he had the urge to do, but it wasn't appropriate and would probably pass as some form as molestation. His only defense in court would probably be something along the lines of _"But your honor, it isn't my fault she's so hopelessly adorable."_

Probably wouldn't excuse him from much. Nor would it explain the fact that he was watching her sleep in the early hours of the morning.

He wasn't exactly watching, per say. He had woken up earlier than her, unable to sleep very well in an unfamiliar house, went to wake her up so she wouldn't over sleep and happened to get caught up in the adorableness that was Kushina Uzumaki. Minato was hardly to blame for taking the opportunity to drink in every tiny detail without repercussions from an angry Kushina.

His eyes drifted to her lips as she made another noise. Her pale pink, slightly parted lips looked soft. Minato wondered how soft they would feel against his-

"Minato."

He started at his name tumbling from the same lips he was staring at. His eyes flickered to hers, but they were still closed. _She was dreaming about him?_ This morning couldn't get any better. Well, it could, but Minato doubted it would. Unless-

Kushina let out a breathy moan, her small hands fisting the bed sheets under her, her thighs clenching the blanket tighter and her toes curling. Minato was sure his face was the color of her hair by now. In fact, he was sure he'd died and gone to heaven when Kushina's hips rose slightly and she whimpered, "Please."

Minato was not a virgin by any means. Putting his looks, charm, previous job and his lifestyle into consideration his virginity was obviously a laughable thought. He was experienced enough to not be easily embarrassed by high school girls and their advances. This, however, was different. For one, he had never spied on a girl sleeping. Nor has he known of a girl or seen a girl having a wet dream about him. He never really put much thought into it. He had at least a few ounces of shame. It was also Kushina. That simple fact shouldn't have made that much of a difference but it somehow did.

A loud buzzing broke Minato out of his flushed reverie and caused Kushina's sleep to be obviously disturbed.

Minato's eyes flitted to the pink alarm clock on her nightstand then back to Kushina. She gasped as her eyes shot open, as if just breaking the surface of water after almost drowning. She took one flabbergasted look at her clock before shrieking a long string of curses.

Kushina paid no mind to Minato as she stumbled out of bed and began shimmying out of her sweatpants. He wasn't sure if he should stop her or enjoy the show. He'd probably regret the latter if she turned around and saw him staring, so he went with the former.

"Kushina," His voice sounded thick with sleep and something else that he didn't want to think too hard about.

She shrieked again and almost tripped over her pants trying to turn around. "Minato! Get out!" He obeyed when she began throwing every object within her reach at him.

Closing the door behind him with a loud slam, he retreated to the kitchen in an attempt to feed himself.

xxx

Kushina was late. Super late, she realized, when she glanced at her clock once more. Calculating it in her head while she tugged off her sweatshirt, she figured that if she skipped breakfast she would only be a minute late at the most.

Then came her next problem. Glancing down at herself, her previous dream came flooding back. Her whole body became hot and her blush seemed to tattoo her face. "Oh, great, _just_ what I needed," She groaned and tugged off her damp underwear and threw it into her dirty clothes hamper.

Kushina yanked on a fresh pair of underwear, her face still flushed. She put on her long sleeved white button-up shirt and tucked it into her green plaid skirt that reached just below her belly button and barely covered her butt. For the finishing touches, she pulled on her green knee-high socks and rolled her sleeves up to her elbows. Even in late fall, borderline winter, it was still warm in Konoha.

After tugging her waist-length hair out of her collar, she twisted the vermillion locks into a messy bun and made a quick pit-stop to the bathroom to brush her teeth, wash her face and pee.

"I am so late!" She announced to the house, racing down the hallway and into the entrance hall, almost slipping on the hardwood floor in the process. Stupid socks.

Minato sat at the breakfast slash dining table next to the kitchen staring glumly into a bowl of what might have been grits. Maybe oatmeal. Kushina made a mental note to cook him a proper meal and maybe teach him how to cook for himself.

"You aren't," He mumbled into the white muck like a pouting little boy.

"What?" She paused, already in the process of putting on her shoes.

"It's November sixth, right?" He finally looked up at her with drowsy cobalt eyes. Her dream pranced to the front of her brain and she looked away quickly. This was probably a new record, Kushina thought to herself, blushing this much before breakfast.

"So?" She snapped, "What the hell does that mean?"

"It's daylight savings time. So, you're actually one hour early," He sounded like he wanted to laugh but was either too tired or too hungry.

Kushina looked up at him from her seat in front of the door in disbelief. Ignoring the fact that she only had one shoe on, she stumbled up and ran to the calendar hanging on the refrigerator door.

Minato watched as all of the fight seemed to wash out of her at the calendar confirmation, her shoulders drooping considerably. Kushina slumped against the counter and promptly dissolved into laughter before falling asleep. All in the time span of two minutes.

Minato blinked and turned back to his muck.

xxx

"Don't get into fights, you hear? Be the good little girl I know you are," Minato lectured in a voice that Kushina guessed was supposed to be motherly. He handed Kushina her lunch, which she deposited into her school bag. His voice took on a more baritone quality when he spoke again, "Don't let those nasty teenage boys near you. They have a one-track mind. I know; I use to be one. All they want do is touch you and feel you up," With every word he got closer to her, stepping out on the front porch where she stood. Kushina looked at the blonde lunatic warily before breaking out in a fit of giggles as he tickled her sides.

"Quit it, Papa!" She played along, trying to grab his hands to stop the torture.

"Defend yourself!" He ordered, spinning her around and pulling her closer to him before mercilessly tickling her tummy. Dimly, Kushina noted that if her father ever got this intimate with her, she would break everyone of his fingers and call the police.

With a battle cry, Kushina stomped on Minato's foot, twisting around in his slackened grip and kneed him right where it counts.

"Ah, fuck, Kushina!" He swore, falling to his knees and cupping his family jewels. She crouched down to his level.

"How was that, Papa?" She grinned at him impishly.

He gave her a thumbs up and tried to grin, but it came out more like a wincing grimace. "That's my little tiger," He croaked.

"Sorry, Pops," Kushina didn't look sorry at all. Caught up in the innocent role-play, she swiftly placed a chaste kiss on his cheek like she had for her real father everyday. Minato jerked back to look at her face, but she was already walking down the concrete pathway. "Bye Papa, Mama!" She called back over her shoulder.

"Have a good day at school, sweetie pie!" He yelled after her in that sickly sweet high pitch tone.

xxx

Kushina arrived at school just in time to be interrogated thoroughly by her best friend.

"Kushina Uzumaki!" A loud voice came from across the schoolyard, almost giving said girl a heart attack.

Mikoto waved wildly at her with both arms from a packed picnic table with less than favorable occupants. Kushina was tempted to act like she hadn't heard or seen her friend and just continue on her way to first period, but Mikoto would be on her like a rabid dog before she could get within touching distance of the front doors.

Sighing and with a resignation of fate, she turned and made her way to Mikoto.

"Hey," Kushina greeted the blue haired girl, mustering up the best smile she could under the heavy stares of Mikoto's company.

"We have so much to talk about, Kush!" She told her fervently, "Move, Inoichi." The blonde shot her a scathing look before turning back to his conversation with Shikaku. Mikoto looked positively scandalized, but recovered quickly, "Fugaku?" He looked at her in disbelief.

"Um, it's fine," Kushina forced herself to speak, not really looking at anybody. Her eyes wandered around the schoolyard filled with students, "Just call me tonight."

"But, Kushina-"

Mikoto stopped when her best friend turned her back and walked stiffly away.

Fully intending to make a beeline to the building, Kushina was stopped not ten feet away from the table by an angry looking underclassman.

"What?" Kushina snapped with impatience.

"No need to get snippy with me, slut," The younger girl sneered, shoving Kushina slightly. "I just came to give you a little warning."

"Look, I absolutely despise Inoichi, so no need to-"

"Inoichi? Hah," The girl laughed, "As if. You're friends with that Cho slut, right?"

"She's not a slut," Kushina growled, stepping closer to the girl, "You, however," She gave her a meaningful look.

"Look, just tell Cho to back off of the Hyuga twins or I'll-"

"You'll what?" Kushina asked challengingly.

"I'll royally fuck you and her up," She snarled.

"Is that a threat or a promise?" Kushina gave her a "kill them with kindness" smile.

"Either way, you're about to get your ass kicked."

"Kushina!" A new voice called and she turned to see the subject of the argument jogging towards the bickering pair, "What's going on?"

"Cho, this girl wants to kick your ass," Kushina offered, gesturing towards the purple haired instigator.

Cho studied her for a moment before her hazel eyes flashed with recognition, "Amu! You're Amu!"

Amu looked startled that she recognized her, but the surprise didn't last long. "That's right, but my name won't matter much when I'm beating you so hard you won't even remember your own name."

"Wow," Cho grinned with amusement, "Did you stay up all night thinking of that one?"

"No!" Amu flushed, her fists clenching and her face red with chagrin.

Mikoto thought about stepping in as she watched the spat, but she was pretty much useless when it came to confrontation and she would probably make the situation even worse by saying something stupid. Inoichi and Shikaku had looked up from their conversation. Chouza had stopped snacking. Fugaku ceased his assault on her neck. Haruno lost his conversation partners when the Hyuga twins turned their attention to the fight with keen interest.

"Aren't you going to even ask why she has some kind of personal vendetta against you?" Kushina asked the brunette who was already cracking her knuckles in anticipation.

"Nah, I already know," Kushina raised her eyebrows at that, "Hiashi and Hizashi are the reason I have such a large list of girls that have tried to beat me up. It's nothing new."

"Ah," Kushina nodded; it made sense.

"But everybody knows that they're mine," Cho threw a look over her shoulder, "Right, boys?"

The feisty brunette didn't get an answer from either of the twins because Amu was already on her like a fat kid on chocolate cake. Normally, the Chinese warrior wouldn't ever be caught off guard, especially by a girl as small as Amu was, but her attention was mostly diverted as the girl grabbed her by the hair and slammed her onto the grass.

Before Cho could even make an attempt to stand up, Amu was already straddling her, her knees pinning her arms to the ground. "Listen, bitch, I told you I would royally fuck you up and after I'm done with you, you're fat friend with the red hair is next!" Anger warped Cho's normally cute features as the freshman spat in her face, punctuating her threat.

Kushina was going to make a move to push the girl off of her friend, but paused at the word _fat_. Normally, Kushina wasn't the one to be bothered by what others thought of her, but her weight had always been a sensitive point. She thought she had dropped the chubby girl title a couple of years back.

"Kushina isn't fat!" Mikoto stood up, shaking her fist threateningly. Nobody paid her any attention.

Kushina made a move to attack Amu, but suddenly found herself in the air. She blinked, as everything seemed to be in slow motion. The face of a very furious girl, probably another freshman, stared down at her as they flew in the air. Kushina guessed that she was a friend of Amu and had tackled her since she was currently holding on to her.

All of the breath in her chest left her with a strangled gasping sound as her back slid across the picnic table Mikoto and company were occupying.

"Kushina!" Her friend screeched in astonishment. The girl currently on top of Kushina pulled back slightly – she had short, choppy black hair and ominous crimson eyes – and grabbed onto her own red hair. She could dimly hear the girl yelling as she tried to get a physical rebuttal, but she wasn't really listening.

Kushina freed her hands from her sides and grabbed the girl's head before bashing her forehead against hers.

"Ow, fuck!" The girl screamed, letting go of Kushina's hair and clutching on to her own head in pain. That would definitely leave a mark on both of them.

Kushina's head throbbed in pain and she noted to never do that again and that it was nothing like it was in movies.

"You bitch!" She seethed, before tugging on her hair again.

"Stop pulling my hair!" Kushina screamed, grabbing the other girl's shoulders so she could get some kind of advantage over her.

The tussling girls rolled over onto the bench part of the table, making the Hyuga twins, Haruno and Chouza scramble out of the way, and onto the ground.

Kushina almost screamed in frustration when she ended up on the bottom again, but this time she was on her stomach. The black haired girl had a much better angle to pull Kushina's hair and had the redhead screaming in pain and flailing in vain.

"Yamanaka, remove Cho from Amu," A gruff voice ordered, "Uchiha, remove Yuhi from Kushina."

As Kushina was finally free from the weight crushing her, she cheered internally a little bit at the fact that Cho was winning her fight. Suddenly, she was being pulled up by strong arms and steadied. Her violet-gray eyes met shining green eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I-I-yeah," Kushina stammered.

"You're bleeding," Haruno frowned, his fingers touching her forehead briefly. They were tipped in blood when he pulled back.

"Oh," Her voice sounded miles away as her mind buzzed. It must have been from knocking her forehead against that Yuhi girl's.

"Hey!" Haruno's profile was starting to blur at the edges, Kushina noticed, suddenly feeling dizzy, "I think she's about to faint!"

Who? She wanted to ask before her vision blacked out.

xxx

"Have a good nap?"

Kushina blinked and swallowed thickly. Her senses rushed information into her slowly awakening brain. She was lying on a cot in the nurse's office and the lights were too bright. It smelled of antiseptic spray and throw up. The nurse was currently speaking to her.

Trying to sit up, her head swam and the nurse told her to lie back down. "I'm fine," Kushina insisted, propping herself against the wall. "What time is it?"

She just wanted to go home, take some Tylenol, brush her teeth and sleep some more.

"It's 12:30," She chirped, fluttering around the room like a hummingbird.

"I've been sleeping for that long?" Kushina gaped at the woman before swinging her legs over the bed and rushing to her feet. "Where's my bag?"

"In the principle's office."

"What? Why?"

"You got into a physical fight, my dear," The woman looked at her earnestly, "That's a class three violation."

"Brilliant," Kushina mumbled, thanked the nurse and left the room. A superb surprise sat on a bench outside of the nurse's office, most likely waiting for her.

The pinkette looked up from his book and met her eyes. "Are you okay?" He asked again, closing his book and shoving it into his brown regulation school bag.

"I'm fine, Haruno," She manifested a small smile, "Are you my escort or something?"

"I guess you could say that," He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck and standing up. "They just wanted to make sure you knew where you were going."

"So, what do you think they'll do to me?" Kushina asked as they began their short walk to the principal's office.

"I doubt they'll expel you," He mused, looking down at her with dancing sea green orbs that accelerated her heart and reddened her cheeks considerably, "You aren't nearly as bad as Cho or Tsume."

"Yeah," She laughed jovially, "Cho has fan girls on her at least three times a day and Tsume likes to pick a fight with anyone that breathes that same air she does."

"And you just seem to piss off the wrong people," That statement had an unsettlingly ring of truth to it.

"Perhaps I do," Kushina frowned as they stopped in front of the principal's door.

"Your cousin came instead of your parents," Haruno informed her, "He said that your parents were gone on a mission trip and he was the only one available."

"What?" Violet eyes started at this piece of information.

"Good luck," He called over his shoulder and disappeared down the hallway.

Taking a deep breath, Kushina gripped the handle, twisted and stepped inside the small office.

The carpet was a deep blue color and the wooden furniture was glossy and dark. It had a warm smell of coffee and butterscotch. In the middle of the room sat a large desk with two matching client chairs in front of them. The person occupying the chair on the left made her want to turn the other way and run.

Unfortunately, all she could do was take stiff steps into the office and take a seat on the right. She could most certainly not reach over and hit him even when he grinned at her with that stupid grin of his that practically screamed "I'm laughing at your pain right now". She could not stomp on his foot even when he gave her a small wave that made her want to break his fingers. She could definitely not kick him in the nuts again even when he said, "Hey, cuz."

"Sarutobi-Sensei, I can explain-" Kushina began, wanting to explain the strange blonde man sitting cross legged with no shoes on claiming to be her cousin, but he cut her off.

"No need," He smiled warmly, "This interesting young man has told me everything."

"Oh," She blinked, "And what exactly has he told you?"

"I think you know, sweetheart," The old man never wavered in his warm grandfatherly expression, "Because of your – ahem – disabilities, I'm willing to let you off with one day suspension."

"Disa-what? What are you talking about?" Kushina sputtered, looking back and forth from Minato to her principal.

"How generous of you, Hiruzen!" Minato beamed.

Kushina was going to beat the crap out of them when they got home.

"You get going you two!" Sarutobi gestured towards the door; a stupid grin still plastered on his face, "And be sure to watch out for your special little cousin!"

"Oh, I will, sir," Minato stood and took Kushina's hand, pulling her out of her chair. "Wouldn't want to lose track of this one."

Sarutobi's jolly laugh followed them until the heavy door shut behind them. Minato held her school bag in his hand. Kushina was tempted to take it back but decided he could carry it for her as part of his punishment.

"Exactly how disabled am I?" She asked, only slightly uncomfortable when he put his arm around her shoulders.

"You're my special little cousin," He squeezed her shoulders, "You're not disabled at all! Just special." Kushina was positive he was getting a big kick out of this whole thing. "And what did I say about getting in fights just this morning?"

"You-" She began, but the words caught in her throat as they stepped out of the front doors of the school. Kushina had completely forgotten that it was lunchtime and the most popular and crowded place during lunchtime was the schoolyard.

She could almost see the chain reaction. A girl sitting at the bottom of the steps heard the front doors open, looked up then nudged the girl sitting next to her who nudged the guy sitting next to her. The line of whispers and stares was painfully visible. Soon enough, all eyes were on Minato who still had his arm around Kushina.

Kushina wasn't stupid or blind. She knew Minato was painfully attractive and from what he told her – very popular with women. It wasn't any different at a school than at a bar.

"Kushina!" Mikoto hollered from their usual table.

She didn't even risk a glance in her direction. There was only one option in her flight or fight instinct. Since there was nobody to fight, it was flight.

Without a second look around the crowd, Kushina grabbed Minato's hand and ran.

* * *

><p>AN: Well, you see? It was just cheesy and stupid and ugh.

See if you can guess who Amu is. ;D Shouldn't be too hard. And I guess I've come to terms with the fact that I will have to wiggle in OC's for this generation. Oh well. I won't go too in depth with them and I won't make them too out there.

I was going to add a lot more but I just felt like this chapter didn't deserve more. More will come soon and I'll be sure to make it at least a little better than this.

Oh and someone asked about Hinata's mom and yes she will be in this story. Just for you!

Hope you enjoyed!


	4. almost

A/N: Oh god oaifjdklsfnsff it's been a while, I know. I'm so sorry. You know the drill, school, loss of inspiration, writer's block blah blah blah.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Kushina glared at the ringing phone with unwavering determination. Its shrill ring floated through the house relentlessly, but Kushina refused to pick it up. She was content with having a glaring contest with the silver and black house phone. No way in hell that phone was being picked up.<p>

A slightly embarrassing voicemail of her parents picked up mentioning their mission trip and how "their little Kushie" was probably busy or at school. Mikoto left the tenth voicemail that day – more death threats. Kushina rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out as if Mikoto could see it through the phone.

"Why don't you just pick up?" Minato suggested from the kitchen table, eating as usual. Kushina had prepared him a mediocre dinner for one, not feeling up to anything special. She hadn't gone to school all week, instead of just the one-day suspension. Numerous sources of stress had brought her down and she barely had the energy to drag herself out of bed in the morning. If it wasn't for Minato, she wouldn't have left her bed or eaten.

"Shut up," Kushina muttered, her chin resting on her hands. She glanced at him from her spot on the couch where she was kneeling and leaning against the back cushions.

Minato simply turned the page in the newspaper, withholding a grin at her sour attitude.

Kushina watched his face as he concentrated on the black and white stacks of paper, his bright eyes flitting back and forth across the paper and his blonde brows knit together. His mouth moved as he silently mouthed some of the words. Occasionally, he would shovel large amounts of food into his mouth, his cheeks expanding like a squirrel's.

"What are you doing?" She asked in a quiet voice, rearranging her legs into a criss-cross position.

"Um, a cross word puzzle," His eyes didn't leave the newspaper.

"You aren't writing anything down," She pointed out, tilting her head slightly. "Normal people use a pen for-"

"I'm obviously not normal people," His tone was strange and for a moment Kushina wandered if she was being rude or annoying until he looked up at her with that dazzling grin of his. "But you're right, I should get a pen or something."

He stood up from his chair just as the phone began to ring again. Kushina turned her full attention back to the phone, fully prepared for another glaring contest. Two rings in Minato stepped in front of her, obscuring her vision of the ringing phone.

"Hey! Move out of-" Kushina's eyes widened as he reached behind him, eyes on her, clicked a button on the phone and brought it up to his hear. "_No!_"

"Uzumaki residence," He greeted, ignoring the Uzumaki's protests.

"Kushina? Kushina, what's wrong with your voice? Are you sick? Is that why you haven't been at school? Do I need to come take care of you? Is it Inoichi? Is it that blonde boy? Kushina, hello? Okay, I'm coming over there right now!"

"Give me the phone right now, you little rat," Kushina whispered furiously, trying to grab the phone from him. He leaned against the back of the couch, next to her head, and switched the phone to his left ear.

"I'm Kushina's cousin," Minato trapped Kushina's demanding hand in between his thigh and his own hand and began playing with her fingers as he spoke to the worried Mikoto. Kushina paused and stared at their hands, her heart beating just a little bit faster. "She hasn't been in the best condition lately, but I've been nursing her back to health. Our little Kushina should be back to school by Monday as healthy as a horse."

The topic of their conversation was hardly listening as she focused intently on what Minato was doing to her hands. How could a person be so skilled with just their hands? The fact that his hands on hers had such an impact made her wander what it would feel like to have his hands doing the same thing to other parts of her body.

"Why are you blushing so hard?" Minato's face was suddenly very close to hers.

"I-I, uh," She stuttered helplessly as he brought their intertwined hands up, his gaze leaving her eyes to their hands. Kushina watched in wander, fascinated by the simple beauty of a small, feminine had incase by a large, masculine one, their fingers dancing together with small, innocent rubs and prodding.

His fingers began slipping away and she ignored her initial reaction to grip his hand tighter so he wouldn't let go.

"I'm going to, uh, go find a pen," Kushina flopped down on the couch, dejected, confused and tired. She stared at the wall and listened to Minato's footsteps retreat down the hallway and come back moments later. "Why the long face?"

"Shut up," she muttered, rolling on her side so only the opposite wall could witness the pout she was sporting.

The mischievous blonde leaned over the back of the couch, trying to get a look at Kushina's face. "What?" He asked, his grin laced with cocky understanding, "Were you expecting more?"

"No," Kushina retorted tightly, curling into a comfortable sleeping position and closing her eyes as if that would stop Minato's teasing.

"Do you want more?" His voice was low and his breath tickled her ear.

Kushina's eyes shot open and heat stained her cheeks. She couldn't move or say anything. This was territory in which she had never tread. Sure, she had an occasional explicit dream and heard the boys in her group of 'friends' heated discussions of it, but this was something else.

"I'll take your silence as a yes."

Suddenly, Minato rolled over the back of the couch and on top of her, pinning her shoulders down so she was lying flat on her back. He brought her hands up and pinned them by either side of her head.

"What are you-" Kushina's words caught in her throat as she watched his face lower. His eyes half-lidded, his mouth slightly parted and his face inching closer and closer to hers.

Her heart felt like it was going to burst forth from her chest, it felt like the butterflies in her stomach were trying to tear themselves free from her abdomen, and she was pretty much positive that she was blushing from her neck to her ears. Kushina was this flustered and Minato hadn't really done anything. When Inoichi kissed her, the only feeling she had was a murderous rage. This time she felt like she was going to combust.

Their noses brushed and Kushina closed her eyes tightly in anticipation.

Minato couldn't help the snicker that escaped his lips. He broke into jovial laughter and Kushina's eyelids sprung open. She was prepared to get angry and unleash her fury on him, but his face hadn't moved away and it momentarily stunned her.

Pure mirth was displayed plainly on his countenance. His suntanned cheeks were stained a fetching shade of pink, his eyes closed and the most beautiful sound she had ever heard was coming from him.

The joyful laugh made her feel airy and her embarrassment was pushed to the back of her mind.

His laugh really was contagious and without meaning to, she began laughing, too.

* * *

><p>Kushina took a deep breath, gripped the strap of her book bag tightly and glared at the door in front of her.<p>

After her one-day suspension and additional two skipped days, she felt the need to clear the air with Principal Sarutobi. Especially about her supposed mental disease that Minato had so kindly diagnosed her with.

Adjusting her green skirt and tugging on the hem of her pale yellow school sweater vest, she knocked lightly on the thick wooden door.

A moment passed before the principal's fatherly voice floated through the door, "Come in!"

She twisted the silver knob and stepped into the warm office. "Good morning, Sarutobi-sensei," Kushina greeted, closing the door behind her.

"Ah! My special little Kushina!" He threw his arms up in recognition, "What can I do for you this morning?"

"Actually, I'd like to explain my absences and my, um, disease," Kushina stood awkwardly, playing with her fingers.

"Yes, yes, of course!" He motioned to the seat in front of his desk, "Take a seat." She did, setting down her book bag and placing her hands in her lap. "Your absences have been excused, so-"

"What? Why?" Kushina asked, bewildered.

"I'm sure your darling cousin told you why, dear," He winked, flipping through a folder of papers she was assuming was hers.

"Sarutobi-sensei, I think there has been a misunderstanding-"

"Nonsense! I understand everything perfectly clear!"

"No, but-"

"Kushina," He interrupted calmly, lacing his fingers together and leaning forward, "I understand you may be a tad bit confused by all that's going on around you and I know it's tough, so I'll do everything in my power to make this high school experience the best you could ever wish for. I've noticed you don't exactly get along well with your peers, so…"

Kushina was done listening to his speech. She stood swiftly, snatching her backpack up.

"What's wrong, Kushina?" Sarutobi seemed genuinely concerned.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I do not have down syndrome, autism or any other mental retardation that my _cousin_ has convinced you that I have. I am a perfectly, normal, sane girl. Frankly, I'm insulted and I'm leaving," And with that, Kushina turned and stormed out of the principal's office, slamming the door shut with a little too much force.

The chagrinned redhead walked swiftly through the crowded hallway, keeping her head low to avoid anybody who might question her about Minato. Unfortunately, she remembered as she entered her next class, Mikoto had a schedule nearly identical to hers.

"Explain," Mikoto demanded as soon as Kushina's bottom was in her chair.

"About what?" Kushina feigned innocence, taking her class supplies out and placing them on her desk.

"Everything!" She scooted her desk closer to Kushina's, "Who was he? Why did you run? Is he cuter up close? Why haven't you been at school this whole week? What-"

"He's my cousin, I didn't want to attract too much attention and I didn't feel good," She explained in one rushed, run-on sentence.

Mikoto frowned and settled back in her seat, completely unsatisfied with her best friend's answer. She would ask more, but the teacher began class.

Before Kushina realized, class was over and everyone was gathering their belongings and leaving the classroom.

"Haruno and I will meet you at the courtyard," Mikoto informed Kushina as they walked to their next class.

"Huh?"

"For our group project? We can do it at your house, right?"

Kushina was only half-listening, still consumed by her daydreams, "Uh, yeah, sure. Hey, I'll catch you later," She waved to Mikoto and they separated ways.

* * *

><p>Kushina was panicking. Internally, of course. Though she wouldn't be surprised if she suddenly broke out into a cold sweat.<p>

Walking with her best friend and the love of her life to her home where her supposed cousin and cause of utter confusion was dwelling was certainly a fair reason for panic.

She really should have paid more attention to her teacher and Mikoto. If she had been, she could have demanded to change partners or maybe called Minato beforehand and told him to leave the house for a while. But, nope.

Mikoto tugged at Kushina's collar to stop her from walking further from her house. "Uh, this is your house, Kush."

Kushina looked up at the familiar house and blinked. "Right, um, let's go."

Haruno was awfully quiet, almost as if he wasn't there. Practically the only movement or sound he had made the whole trek home was tugging his navy beanie over his short pink locks and sniffing slightly.

The suspense in the air was so thick Kushina felt like she could stick her tongue out and taste it in the air. She wondered if she was the only one who felt it. She fished around in her backpack, moving around items to stall. Slowly taking out her keys, Mikoto gave her a look, which Kushina stuck her tongue out at.

Taking a deep breath and steeling herself, Kushina stuck the key in, turned it and shoved the door open before she lost her nerve.

The front of the house was empty, not one pillow or plate out of place. It felt deserted. Kushina wanted to announce that she was home, but refrained. If there was any small chance that Haruno didn't know about Minato, she wanted to keep it that way.

Dropping her book bag on the floor next to the door and slipping out of her shoes, she felt a little relieved. Maybe Minato had gone out or-

"Kushina, are you home?" A familiar voice called, from the hallway.

She froze and felt Haruno and Mikoto pause in the act of taking off their shoes.

Gulping, she prayed that he would stay at the back of the house.

But apparently, luck was not on Kushina's side today.

She fully realized this as Minato came sauntering out of the hallway, still dripping from a shower and a damp towel around his hips.

Kushina almost groaned, "Oh, God."

* * *

><p>AN: It was short, I know. I just got my inspiration back and my writing is a little rusty, but I have more in store for this story. And I have so much to explain. I'll try to get it all explained eventually.

Thank you for all of your reviews and I'm glad you like the story so far! :3


End file.
